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First Satellite Contact Between Antarctica and South America Reported

The Radio Club of Argentina (RCA) and AMSAT-LU have announced the first satellite contact between Argentinean Antarctica and mainland Argentina on February 28 via SO-50. The RCA's website reports the historic contact was arranged by the Radio Club of Argentina and AMSAT-LU.

Marcelo Duca, LU1AET, and Federico Mainz, LU5UFM, had studied the passes of various amateur satellites over Argentina. Duca was at Carlini Antarctic Base, May 25 Island, South Shetland, in Argentinean Antarctica, while Mainz was in Miramar, in Buenos Aires Province on the mainland — a distance of nearly 2700 kilometers.

“At the appointed hour, Marcelo (with Carlos, LU1BCE, at his side) made the first call from Carlini Base via SO-50. He got an immediate reply from Federico in Miramar. They exchanged signal reports and talked for more than 2 minutes,” The RCA website recounts. Duca was running 15 W, while Mainz was running just 4 W using a hand-held transceiver.